Wednesday 24 / April / 2024
Known for their unique and distinct flavours, mushrooms are considered as nature’s hidden treasure. This week let’s feast on mushrooms, from a simple bowl of soup and risotto to an easy and healthy Indian recipe.
EASY MUSHROOM SOUP
Comfort food in a bowl, mushroom soup is ideal as a light meal.
Ingredients
• 1 cup mushrooms ( chopped)
• 2 tbsp onions ( finely chopped)
• 2 tsp all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 tsp butter
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
• Combine milk with 2 cups of water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Keep aside.
• Melt butter in a another pan, add onions and sauté on a medium flame for 2 minutes.
• Add mushrooms and sauté for few minutes. Add the flour. Mix well on low heat for about a minute.
• Add the milk-water mixture gradually and continue to cook on low flame, till no lumps remain, while stirring continuously.
• Season with salt and pepper and bring to a roaring boil. Switch off the flame.
• Serve hot garnished with fresh parsley.
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STUFFED MUSHROOMS
These cheesy delights make the best appetisers giving the humble mushroom a delectable makeover.
Ingredients
• 15 large sized mushrooms
Stuffing mix
• 1/2 cup mozarella cheese (grated)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped spring onion greens
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp paprika powder
• 2 tsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt to taste
Preparation
• Mix the stuffing ingredients till well combined and keep aside.
• Remove the stems of the mushrooms so as to form a cavity in the mushroom caps.
• Stuff each mushroom with a portion of the stuffing mix.
• Arrange the stuffed mushrooms on a greased baking tray and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°c for 10 minutes.
• Serve hot.
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MUSHROOM RISOTTO
A creamy Italian rice dish with Arborio rice and mushrooms makes a delicious, hassle free one-pot dish.
Ingredients
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup mushrooms( finely chopped)
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic- minced
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• Salt
• 1/4 cup freshly grated
parmesan cheese
Preparation
• Bring stock to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Melt butter and heat oil in a large pot. Add onion and saute till pink. Add garlic and saute till the rawness goes.Now add rice; stir to coat all the grains for a few seconds.
• Add 1/2 cup of broth, stir, till all of it is absorbed.
• Gradually add 1/2 cup of broth, and stir again. Cook until the broth is absorbed.
• Repeat until about just 1/2 cup of broth remains.
• The rice would take about 20 minutes to cook. Turn off heat.
• Add salt as per taste, remaining broth, and cheese. Stir gently for 2 minutes.
• Serve hot.
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MUSHROOM CHETTINAD CURRY
Mushrooms cooked in coconut gravy with aromactic magic of curry leaves and spices is a new addition to the legendary Chettinad cuisine of India.
Ingredients
• 3 medium onions-finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes- finely chopped
• 10 curry leaves
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 2 tbsp oil
For marination
• 1 cup mushroom (small button mushrooms)
• Salt as per taste
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
For spice paste
• 2 dry red chillies
• 3 cloves
• 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
• 2 cardamom ( peeled)
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/2 tspcumin seeds
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cashews
Preparation
• Marinate mushrooms with the marination ingredients.
• Keep it aside for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, dry roast all the ingredients mentioned under “for spice paste” and blend to a smooth paste by adding little water.
• In a heavy-bottom pan, heat oil and add onion, tomato and curry leaves and saute.
• Add the marinated mushrooms and season with salt. Cover and let it cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add the ground paste. Mix well and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Finally, add coconut milk gradually on low heat.
• Stir well and cook till the curry obtains a thick texture.
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or rotis.
Oneza Tabish is a food blogger, consultant, and columnist based in Oman. She is also the owner of Oman’s popular Facebook group ‘What’s Cooking Oman.’
